Vietnam Court Sentences 14 Activists

By

James Hookway

Jan. 9, 2013 12:27 p.m. ET

A Vietnam court sentenced 14 activists and bloggers in Vietnam to up to 13 years in prison, in the Communist-run state's biggest subversion trial in years.

Analysts say the hefty jail terms are becoming routine in Vietnam, and follow a series of other high-profile cases over the past 12 months, threatening to damage relations between Hanoi and some of its main trading partners, including the United States.

ENLARGE

Defendants in a Vietnam subversion trial appeared in court Wednesday.
Reuters

In a statement Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said it was "deeply troubled" by the latest convictions and described them as "part of a disturbing human-rights trend" in Vietnam. "We call on the government to release these individuals and all other prisoners of conscience immediately," the statement said.

Defense lawyers said three of the defendants were sentenced Wednesday to 13 years after a two-day trial at the People's Court in Nghe An province in central Vietnam, while 11 others were handed prison sentences ranging from three to eight years, with one of the three-year terms suspended.

Government and court officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The 14 were found guilty of attempting to subvert the government by attending overseas courses that trained them in nonviolent resistance techniques and how to use the Internet to attract other supporters to their cause, according to prosecutors.

At the end of December, concerns rose about the fate of bloggers and peaceful dissidents when authorities detained human-rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan as he was taking his daughter to school on Dec. 27, and upheld earlier prison sentences handed to other prominent political bloggers, including Nguyen Van Hai, Ta Phong Tan and Phan Than Hai.

The convictions underscore the concern with which Vietnamese leaders view the Internet as it emerges as a widely read outlet for dissent. In recent years, authorities have periodically blocked access to social-media sites like Facebook as Internet-penetration rates rise to overtake those in neighboring countries such as Indonesia and Thailand.

Authorities now regularly hand out lengthy prison sentences to anyone posting critical antigovernment comments online, in an effort to discourage other Vietnamese from embracing the organizing power of the Web.

The crackdown coincides with sharply slowing economic growth and a persistent bad debt problem in the country's banking system that analysts say have raised questions about the legitimacy and competence of the Communist rulers.

In many instances, however, online critics appear undeterred by the efforts to muzzle them.

Last year, three prominent blogs emerged to highlight what they described as the extravagant spending habits of top Communist Party officials as the local economy stumbled, prompting Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to launch a campaign to clamp down on dissent—after he instructed party officials to limit spending on lavish weddings, among other things.

At least two of the sites are still operating, while Mr. Dung in December began blaming political dissent for undermining the country's faltering economic recovery.

Observers at this week's trial in Nghe An province said it was tense. Pictures of the courthouse posted online showed police cordoning off the area.

The religion of many of the defendants—a dozen of the 14 are Roman Catholics—provided additional friction with state prosecutors, who accused the dissidents of plotting to undermine the government with the help of a U.S.-based pro-democracy group called Viet Tan.

Vietnam's government often views religious groups with suspicion, analysts say.

In their indictment, prosecutors accused one of the defendants, Ho Duc Hoa, 38 years old, of using the Internet to make contact with Viet Tan members in 2009 and to later attend allegedly subversive training courses in Thailand.

On his return to Thailand, prosecutors say, Mr. Hoa, who received a 13-year prison term, recruited friends and acquaintances to join Viet Tan's efforts to establish a multiparty democracy in Vietnam, leading to their arrest in 2011 and subsequent conviction. The defendants deny the charges.

None of the 14 people sentenced Wednesday could be reached for comment. One of the defense lawyers, Tran Thu Nam, said the defendants plan to file an appeal.

Viet Tan denied allegations that it is trying to overthrow the government. "With members inside Vietnam and around the world, Viet Tan aims to establish democracy and reform the country through peaceful means," the Washington, D.C.-based group said in a statement. "We believe that gaining an understanding of nonviolent civil resistance, digital security and leadership skills are both empowering and the right of every free individual."

Some of the defendants sentenced Wednesday are among a group of 17 Vietnamese detainees who have appealed to the United Nations' group on arbitrary detentions to help secure their freedom and draw more international attention to the worsening campaign against free expression in Vietnam.

"Most of the petitioners have been jailed for an extended period of time without meaningful judicial process," said Allen Weiner, a lecturer at Stanford Law School, who is helping the group pursue their petition to the U.N. He said Vietnam "continues to use its legal system as a tool for the repression of the exercise of civil and political rights that are protected under international law."

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